In town for a party, we were two couples just needing beds for the night. On the corner of Mair and Doveton Streets, the Peter Lalor is just one block from the main street of Ballarat. This is not a hotel, a motel or a B&B; it is an old fashioned Aussie Pub. The rooms have a bed, a basin, a wardrobe and a chair. The ceilings are so high that our room was taller than it was wide! The bathrooms are at the end of the passage. Bathroom-wise, the men fare better than the ladies who get one shower at one end of the passage and one toilet at the other.

The pros were that a double room cost $50 per night, the bed was clean and comfortable and we could have drink in the bar when we arrived and another before going to bed. There is no TV, except in the residents lounge. And this really is an unpretentious place. I liked it.

The cons were that our friend who also stayed there was in culture-shock as she had never stayed in a pub before. There was lively (but bad) karaoke... more